Lincoln, director Steven Spielberg’s compelling depiction of the final four months of Abraham Lincoln’s presidency as he pressed Congress to pass the 13th Amendment to the Constitution to abolish slavery, was filmed entirely in Virginia’s state capital, Richmond, which ironically was the capital of the Confederacy during the Civil War. Oscar-winning production designer RickCarter had visited a number of cities to find one that, in terms of its look, would be a good setting for the shoot. “Richmond still retained a 19th century appearance and atmosphere that resembled what Washington D.C. might have looked like when Lincoln was president,” he said.